diff --git a/hack/update-template-ubuntu.sh b/hack/update-template-ubuntu.sh
index 2e5250036b2..733953aeed2 100755
--- a/hack/update-template-ubuntu.sh
+++ b/hack/update-template-ubuntu.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,14 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 
+set -eu -o pipefail
+
+# Functions in this script assume error handling with 'set -e'.
+# To ensure 'set -e' works correctly:
+# - Use 'set +e' before assignments and '$(set -e; <function>)' to capture output without exiting on errors.
+# - Avoid calling functions directly in conditions to prevent disabling 'set -e'.
+# - Use 'shopt -s inherit_errexit' (Bash 4.4+) to avoid repeated 'set -e' in all '$(...)'.
+shopt -s inherit_errexit || error_exit "inherit_errexit not supported. Please use bash 4.4 or later."
+
 function ubuntu_print_help() {
 	cat <<HELP
 $(basename "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}"): Update the Ubuntu image location in the specified templates
@@ -41,40 +50,11 @@ Flags:
 HELP
 }
 
-scriptdir=$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")
-# shellcheck source=./cache-common-inc.sh
-# shellcheck disable=SC1091
-. "${scriptdir}/cache-common-inc.sh"
-
-set -eu -o pipefail
-
-# Functions in this script assume error handling with 'set -e'.
-# To ensure 'set -e' works correctly:
-# - Use 'set +e' before assignments and '$(set -e; <function>)' to capture output without exiting on errors.
-# - Avoid calling functions directly in conditions to prevent disabling 'set -e'.
-# - Use 'shopt -s inherit_errexit' (Bash 4.4+) to avoid repeated 'set -e' in all '$(...)'.
-shopt -s inherit_errexit || error_exit "inherit_errexit not supported. Please use bash 4.4 or later."
-
 readonly -A ubuntu_base_urls=(
 	[minimal]=https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/minimal/releases/
 	[server]=https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/releases/
 )
 
-# validate_url checks if the URL is valid and returns the location if it is.
-# If the URL is redirected, it returns the redirected location.
-# e.g.
-# ```console
-# validate_url https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/server/releases/24.04/release/ubuntu-24.04-server-cloudimg-amd64.img
-# https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/releases/24.04/release/ubuntu-24.04-server-cloudimg-amd64.img
-# ```
-function validate_url() {
-	local url=$1
-	code_location=$(curl -sSL -o /dev/null -I -w "%{http_code}\t%{url_effective}" "${url}")
-	read -r code location <<<"${code_location}"
-	[[ ${code} -eq 200 ]] || error_exit "[${code}]: The image is not available for download from ${location}"
-	echo "${location}"
-}
-
 # ubuntu_base_url returns the base URL for the given flavor.
 # e.g.
 # ```console
@@ -115,48 +95,6 @@ function ubuntu_image_url_try_replace_release_with_version() {
 	set -e
 }
 
-# json prints the JSON object with the given arguments.
-# json [key value ...]
-# if the value is empty, both key and value are omitted.
-# e.g.
-# ```console
-# json location https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/minimal/releases/24.04/release-20210914/ubuntu-24.04-minimal-cloudimg-amd64.img arch amd64 digest sha256:...
-# {"location":"https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/minimal/releases/24.04/release-20210914/ubuntu-24.04-minimal-cloudimg-amd64.img","arch":"amd64","digest":"sha256:..."}
-# ```
-function json() {
-	local args=() pattern='^(\[.*\]|\{.*\})$' value
-	[[ ! -p /dev/stdin ]] && args+=(--null-input)
-	while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
-		value="${2-}"
-		if [[ ${value} =~ ${pattern} ]]; then
-			args+=(--argjson "${1}" "${value}")
-		elif [[ -n ${value} ]]; then
-			args+=(--arg "${1}" "${value}")
-		fi # omit empty values
-		shift
-		shift # shift 2 does not work when $# is 1
-	done
-	jq -c "${args[@]}" '. + $ARGS.named | if . == {} then empty else . end'
-}
-
-# json_vars prints the JSON object with the given variable names.
-# e.g.
-# ```console
-# location=https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/minimal/releases/24.04/release-20210914/ubuntu-24.04-minimal-cloudimg-amd64.img
-# arch=amd64
-# digest=sha256:...
-# json_vars location arch digest
-# {"location":"https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/minimal/releases/24.04/release-20210914/ubuntu-24.04-minimal-cloudimg-amd64.img","arch":"amd64","digest":"sha256:..."}
-# ```
-function json_vars() {
-	local args=() var
-	for var in "$@"; do
-		[[ -v ${var} ]] || error_exit "${var} is not set"
-		args+=("${var}" "${!var}")
-	done
-	json "${args[@]}"
-}
-
 # ubuntu_image_url_latest returns the latest image URL and its digest for the given flavor, version, arch, and path suffix.
 function ubuntu_image_url_latest() {
 	local flavor=$1 version=$2 arch=$3 path_suffix=$4 base_url ubuntu_downloaded_json jq_filter location_digest_release
@@ -246,15 +184,6 @@ function ubuntu_image_entry_with_kernel_info() {
 	json_vars kernel initrd <<<"${image_entry}"
 }
 
-# limayaml_arch returns the arch in the lima.yaml format
-function limayaml_arch() {
-	local arch=$1
-	arch=${arch/amd64/x86_64}
-	arch=${arch/arm64/aarch64}
-	arch=${arch/armhf/armv7l}
-	echo "${arch}"
-}
-
 function ubuntu_flavor_from_location() {
 	local location=$1 location_basename flavor
 	location_basename=$(basename "${location}")
@@ -402,6 +331,29 @@ function ubuntu_image_entry_for_image_kernel_flavor_version() {
 	fi
 }
 
+# check if the script is executed or sourced
+# shellcheck disable=SC1091
+if [[ ${BASH_SOURCE[0]} == "${0}" ]]; then
+	scriptdir=$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")
+	# shellcheck source=./cache-common-inc.sh
+	. "${scriptdir}/cache-common-inc.sh"
+
+	# shellcheck source=/dev/null # avoid shellcheck hangs on source looping
+	. "${scriptdir}/update-template.sh"
+else
+	# this script is sourced
+	if [[ -v SUPPORTED_DISTRIBUTIONS ]]; then
+		SUPPORTED_DISTRIBUTIONS+=("ubuntu")
+	else
+		declare -a SUPPORTED_DISTRIBUTIONS=("ubuntu")
+	fi
+	# required functions for Ubuntu
+	function ubuntu_cache_key_for_image_kernel() { ubuntu_cache_key_for_image_kernel_flavor_version "$@"; }
+	function ubuntu_image_entry_for_image_kernel() { ubuntu_image_entry_for_image_kernel_flavor_version "$@"; }
+
+	return 0
+fi
+
 declare -a templates=()
 declare overriding_flavor=
 declare overriding_version=
@@ -411,6 +363,7 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
 		ubuntu_print_help
 		exit 0
 		;;
+	-d | --debug) set -x ;;
 	--flavor)
 		if [[ -n $2 && $2 != -* ]]; then
 			overriding_flavor="$2"
@@ -444,7 +397,7 @@ if [[ ${#templates[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
 	exit 0
 fi
 
-declare -A ubuntu_image_entry_cache=()
+declare -A image_entry_cache=()
 
 for template in "${templates[@]}"; do
 	echo "Processing ${template}"
@@ -477,8 +430,8 @@ for template in "${templates[@]}"; do
 		[[ $? -eq 0 ]] || continue
 		image_entry=$(
 			set -e # Enable 'set -e' for the next command.
-			if [[ -v ubuntu_image_entry_cache[${cache_key}] ]]; then
-				echo "${ubuntu_image_entry_cache[${cache_key}]}"
+			if [[ -v image_entry_cache[${cache_key}] ]]; then
+				echo "${image_entry_cache[${cache_key}]}"
 			else
 				ubuntu_image_entry_for_image_kernel_flavor_version "${location}" "${kernel_location}" "${overriding_flavor}" "${overriding_version}"
 			fi
@@ -486,7 +439,7 @@ for template in "${templates[@]}"; do
 		# shellcheck disable=2181
 		[[ $? -eq 0 ]] || continue
 		set -e
-		ubuntu_image_entry_cache[${cache_key}]="${image_entry}"
+		image_entry_cache[${cache_key}]="${image_entry}"
 		if [[ -n ${image_entry} ]]; then
 			[[ ${kernel_cmdline} != "null" ]] &&
 				jq -e 'has("kernel")' <<<"${image_entry}" >/dev/null &&
diff --git a/hack/update-template.sh b/hack/update-template.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..3c18c26e401
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hack/update-template.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,209 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -eu -o pipefail
+
+# Functions in this script assume error handling with 'set -e'.
+# To ensure 'set -e' works correctly:
+# - Use 'set +e' before assignments and '$(set -e; <function>)' to capture output without exiting on errors.
+# - Avoid calling functions directly in conditions to prevent disabling 'set -e'.
+# - Use 'shopt -s inherit_errexit' (Bash 4.4+) to avoid repeated 'set -e' in all '$(...)'.
+shopt -s inherit_errexit || error_exit "inherit_errexit not supported. Please use bash 4.4 or later."
+
+function print_help() {
+	cat <<HELP
+$(basename "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}"): Update the image location in the specified templates
+
+Usage:
+  $(basename "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}") <template.yaml>...
+
+Description:
+  This script updates the image location in the specified templates.
+  If the image location in the template contains a release date in the URL, the script replaces it with the latest available date.
+
+Examples:
+  Update the Ubuntu image location in templates/**.yaml:
+  $ $(basename "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}") templates/**.yaml
+
+  Update the Ubuntu image location in ~/.lima/ubuntu/lima.yaml:
+  $ $(basename "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}") ~/.lima/ubuntu/lima.yaml
+
+Flags:
+  -h, --help           Print this help message
+HELP
+}
+
+# json prints the JSON object with the given arguments.
+# json [key value ...]
+# if the value is empty, both key and value are omitted.
+# e.g.
+# ```console
+# json location https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/minimal/releases/24.04/release-20210914/ubuntu-24.04-minimal-cloudimg-amd64.img arch amd64 digest sha256:...
+# {"location":"https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/minimal/releases/24.04/release-20210914/ubuntu-24.04-minimal-cloudimg-amd64.img","arch":"amd64","digest":"sha256:..."}
+# ```
+function json() {
+	local args=() pattern='^(\[.*\]|\{.*\})$' value
+	[[ ! -p /dev/stdin ]] && args+=(--null-input)
+	while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+		value="${2-}"
+		if [[ ${value} =~ ${pattern} ]]; then
+			args+=(--argjson "${1}" "${value}")
+		elif [[ -n ${value} ]]; then
+			args+=(--arg "${1}" "${value}")
+		fi # omit empty values
+		shift
+		shift # shift 2 does not work when $# is 1
+	done
+	jq -c "${args[@]}" '. + $ARGS.named | if . == {} then empty else . end'
+}
+
+# json_vars prints the JSON object with the given variable names.
+# e.g.
+# ```console
+# location=https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/minimal/releases/24.04/release-20210914/ubuntu-24.04-minimal-cloudimg-amd64.img
+# arch=amd64
+# digest=sha256:...
+# json_vars location arch digest
+# {"location":"https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/minimal/releases/24.04/release-20210914/ubuntu-24.04-minimal-cloudimg-amd64.img","arch":"amd64","digest":"sha256:..."}
+# ```
+function json_vars() {
+	local args=() var
+	for var in "$@"; do
+		[[ -v ${var} ]] || error_exit "${var} is not set"
+		args+=("${var}" "${!var}")
+	done
+	json "${args[@]}"
+}
+
+# limayaml_arch returns the arch in the lima.yaml format
+function limayaml_arch() {
+	local arch=$1
+	arch=${arch/amd64/x86_64}
+	arch=${arch/arm64/aarch64}
+	arch=${arch/armhf/armv7l}
+	echo "${arch}"
+}
+
+# validate_url checks if the URL is valid and returns the location if it is.
+# If the URL is redirected, it returns the redirected location.
+# e.g.
+# ```console
+# validate_url https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/server/releases/24.04/release/ubuntu-24.04-server-cloudimg-amd64.img
+# https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/releases/24.04/release/ubuntu-24.04-server-cloudimg-amd64.img
+# ```
+function validate_url() {
+	local url=$1
+	code_location=$(curl -sSL -o /dev/null -I -w "%{http_code}\t%{url_effective}" "${url}")
+	read -r code location <<<"${code_location}"
+	[[ ${code} -eq 200 ]] || error_exit "[${code}]: The image is not available for download from ${location}"
+	echo "${location}"
+}
+
+# check if the script is executed or sourced
+# shellcheck disable=SC1091
+if [[ ${BASH_SOURCE[0]} == "${0}" ]]; then
+	scriptdir=$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")
+	# shellcheck source=./cache-common-inc.sh
+	. "${scriptdir}/cache-common-inc.sh"
+
+	# Scripts for each distribution are expected to:
+	# - Add their identifier to the SUPPORTED_DISTRIBUTIONS array.
+	# - Register the following functions:
+	#   - ${distribution}_cache_key_for_image_kernel
+	#     - Arguments: location, kernel_location
+	#     - Returns: cache_key (string)
+	#     - Exits with an error if the image location is not supported.
+	#   - ${distribution}_image_entry_for_image_kernel
+	#     - Arguments: location, kernel_location
+	#     - Returns: image_entry (JSON object)
+	#	  - Exits with an error if the image location is not supported.
+	declare -a SUPPORTED_DISTRIBUTIONS=()
+
+	# shellcheck source=./update-template-ubuntu.sh
+	. "${scriptdir}/update-template-ubuntu.sh"
+else
+	# this script is sourced
+	return 0
+fi
+
+declare -a templates=()
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+	case "$1" in
+	-h | --help)
+		print_help
+		exit 0
+		;;
+	-d | --debug) set -x ;;
+	*.yaml) templates+=("$1") ;;
+	*)
+		error_exit "Unknown argument: $1"
+		;;
+	esac
+	shift
+done
+
+if [[ ${#templates[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
+	print_help
+	exit 0
+fi
+
+declare -a distributions=()
+# Check if the distribution has the required functions
+for distribution in "${SUPPORTED_DISTRIBUTIONS[@]}"; do
+	if declare -f "${distribution}_cache_key_for_image_kernel" >/dev/null &&
+		declare -f "${distribution}_image_entry_for_image_kernel" >/dev/null; then
+		distributions+=("${distribution}")
+	fi
+done
+[[ ${#distributions[@]} -gt 0 ]] || error_exit "No supported distributions found"
+
+declare -A image_entry_cache=()
+
+for template in "${templates[@]}"; do
+	echo "Processing ${template}"
+	# 1. extract location by parsing template using arch
+	yq_filter="
+		.images[] | [.location, .kernel.location, .kernel.cmdline] | @tsv
+	"
+	parsed=$(yq eval "${yq_filter}" "${template}")
+
+	# 3. get the image location
+	arr=()
+	while IFS= read -r line; do arr+=("${line}"); done <<<"${parsed}"
+	locations=("${arr[@]}")
+	for ((index = 0; index < ${#locations[@]}; index++)); do
+		[[ ${locations[index]} != "null" ]] || continue
+		set -e
+		IFS=$'\t' read -r location kernel_location kernel_cmdline <<<"${locations[index]}"
+		for distribution in "${distributions[@]}"; do
+			set +e # Disable 'set -e' to avoid exiting on error for the next assignment.
+			cache_key=$(
+				set -e # Enable 'set -e' for the next command.
+				"${distribution}_cache_key_for_image_kernel" "${location}" "${kernel_location}"
+			) # Check exit status separately to prevent disabling 'set -e' by using the function call in the condition.
+			# shellcheck disable=2181
+			[[ $? -eq 0 ]] || continue
+			image_entry=$(
+				set -e # Enable 'set -e' for the next command.
+				if [[ -v image_entry_cache[${cache_key}] ]]; then
+					echo "${image_entry_cache[${cache_key}]}"
+				else
+					"${distribution}_image_entry_for_image_kernel" "${location}" "${kernel_location}"
+				fi
+			) # Check exit status separately to prevent disabling 'set -e' by using the function call in the condition.
+			# shellcheck disable=2181
+			[[ $? -eq 0 ]] || continue
+			set -e
+			image_entry_cache[${cache_key}]="${image_entry}"
+			if [[ -n ${image_entry} ]]; then
+				[[ ${kernel_cmdline} != "null" ]] &&
+					jq -e 'has("kernel")' <<<"${image_entry}" >/dev/null &&
+					image_entry=$(jq ".kernel.cmdline = \"${kernel_cmdline}\"" <<<"${image_entry}")
+				echo "${image_entry}" | jq
+				limactl edit --log-level error --set "
+					.images[${index}] = ${image_entry}|
+					(.images[${index}] | ..) style = \"double\"
+				" "${template}"
+			fi
+		done
+	done
+done